Harpoon and like line or rope



Jam 24, 1939- c. cHRlsTlANsr-:N ET AL 2,145,153

HARPOON AND LIKE LINE OR ROPE Filed Dec. l0, 1935 Patented Jan. 24, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HARPOON AND LIKE LINE OR ROPE Application December 10, 1935, Serial No. 53,832 In Norway January 17, 1935 1 Claim.

The killing of whales, as is well known, has of late often been eilected by means of an electric current. line attached to the harpoon is provided with an 5 electric cable through which an electric current from a source of current on board the whaling vessel is transmitted upon the harpoon striking the body of the whale. A current is then conducted through the body of the whale, the circuit being completed through the sea water back to the vessel. As experience shows, in this manner the whale is killed practically instantly.

For this purpose it has been usual to employ as a. fore-runner, a rope with an electric cable 5 or cables laid in the centre of one or more of the strands of the rope. The presence of two materials of different specific gravity in the forerunner renders the same liable to injury when put to use. On a sudden reduction of the velocity of the rope, on impact of thc harpoon against the whale, as the cable has a greater specific gravity than hemp of any kind, and therefore has a greater momentum, the hemp will be caused to pack or bunch together more than would otherwise be the case, with the result that there is a strong tendency for the cable to be forced from the centre of the strand out to its periphery. At the places where the cable in this way is forced through the hemp, it may be subjected to injuries such that the conductor breaks and the cable therefore becomes unusable. In order to avoid this as far as possible, the strands of the forerunner, which as a rule are three in number, have hitherto been hard or tightly twisted, but this has the disadvantage that the fore-runner is diiilcult to handle and to coil up, and above all,

the accuracy of the aimwill be detrimentally aiected as the path oi the harpoon or like projectile is reduced and will vary considerably when a hard or tightly twisted line is used.

According to the present invention the position of the cable in the centre of the strand is ensured by one or more layers or servings of yarn laid around the cable and enclosed in a wrapping of ribbon or yarn, the said layer or layers of yarn being thereby attached to the cable in such a manner that .the cable cannot break through the layer enclosing the same, and hencethedanserotabreakintheconductoris For this purpose the fore-runner oreliminated. At the same time, the rope may be twisted quite loosely whereby a greater range and a greater accuracy of aim is obtained. Further, the diameter of the rope may be reduced considerably as compared with fore-runners 5 provided with electric cable as hitherto used, where a large diameter was necessary in order to obtain a thick hemp covering for securing the cable inside the same. This reduction of the diameter also tends to increase the range and the 10 accuracy of aim.

'Ihe said ribbons or yarns for enclosing the layer or layers of yarn and the cable may be of cotton, hemp, jute, impregnated paper or other suitable material and may be laid so close that 15 the windings or turns are in contact or overlap each other, or a space may be left between the individual windings or turns.

The accompanying drawing illustrates an example of an embodiment of the invention. 20

Figure 1 shows a piece of a fore-runner with three strands and an electric cable inside each of the strands. An end of one of the strands is unwound in order to show the disposition of the cable therein. 25

Figure 2 shows a section o! this fore-runner.

I is the electric cable around which a yarn layer or serving 3 is laid. Around the same is next wound a textile ribbon 2 which holds together the cable and the yarn layer 3. The ribbon 30 in the example shown is wound in the same direction as the yarn layer 3, but it may also be wound in the opposite direction. As mentioned above, yarn may be used instead of ribbon for winding around the cable and yarn'layer, and 35 this ribbon or yarn may be arranged around two or more layers of yarn laid next to the cable.

What we claim is:

A harpoon line comprising one or more strands, at least one of said strands comprising a water- 40 prooi insulated electric conductor, a plurality of yarns wound helically to form a layer about said insulated conductor, a wrapping, surrounding said insulated conductor and-said layer of yarns, and a plurality of yarns helically wound about said l conductor, said rst yarn layer and said wrapplus.

CHRISTIAN GUs'rAv o'rro naar. arisen. 

